New Delhi, Sep 18 (PTI) The recent Jantar Mantar student protests did not disappear from Delhi University’s campuses when the demonstrations ended. For some, they resurfaced on Friday as a question at the ballot box during student union elections: who, and what, do they want their vote to represent? Conversations with students across North Campus suggested the protests had increased political awareness among a section of voters, even though the name of the Cockroach Janata Party was not explicitly part of the conversation.
Students said the impact was less about a direct transfer of support to one organisation and more about reassessing political loyalties and looking more closely at what different groups represented.
“Students have been increasingly antagonised over the last few years. We saw that particularly this year during the Jantar Mantar protests. It made many students question the positions taken by different student organisations and whether they actually represented the issues that students were raising,” said a third-year Hindu College student, who did not wish to be named.
Students said the demonstrations had also changed the way some voters viewed participation in the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) election.
“Even though the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) was not directly mentioned, it was part of many discussions. Students were talking about what organisations stand for, whether they agree with their politics and whether voting can give them a greater say in issues concerning students. There was a feeling that students should not simply vote because a particular organisation has always been influential on campus,” another student said.
This view was shared by several voters who did not see the elections simply as a contest between the established student organisations.
The protests, which drew students, parents and examination aspirants to Jantar Mantar in June-July over concerns related to the education system and alleged examination-related lapses, brought questions of accountability and representation into student conversations beyond individual campuses.
For some students, this translated into a desire to build a stronger independent voice rather than align themselves with an organisation because of its established presence on campus.
“We want to create a strong grounding of our own. The protests made students realise that they can raise issues collectively and question those in authority. That political awareness has carried into the election as well, with students wanting to know what a candidate or organisation actually stands for,” another student said.
The student said the heightened awareness was also visible in the way candidates were discussed.
“Earlier, a lot of the discussion was about which organisation was strong in a particular college or which candidate had the bigger campaign. This time, at least among some students, there has been more discussion about what the candidate has done, what the organisation has stood for and whether it was present when students were raising these issues,” the student said.
The Jantar Mantar protests also entered the DUSU campaign without becoming its central issue.
Students talked about hostels, fees, placements, menstrual leave, drinking water and college facilities, but some said the demonstrations had made them examine these issues through the larger question of representation.
“If we are going to vote, we should know why we are voting and what the person we are voting for actually represents. It should not only be about the organisation they belong to or how much campaigning they have done,” another student said.
At the same time, students were wary of attributing their voting choices entirely to the protests. Some said their vote remained primarily determined by work done inside their colleges, while others continued to identify strongly with established student organisations.
For a section of voters, particularly students who had participated in or closely followed the demonstrations, the protests had become part of the broader political discussion around the DUSU election.
With more than 1.5 lakh students eligible to vote in this year’s DUSU election, the demonstrations were one of several issues discussed by students as they weighed their choices on Friday. PTI MSJ KSI KSI
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